Afghanistan’s ‘Laughter Network’ spares no one
KABUL — On a recent Friday night in Ghulam Faryad’s grocery store, half a dozen customers gathered for a weekly dose of comic relief from the tribulations of daily life in the Afghan capital. Watching a flatscreen television above the counter, they smirked as two inept policemen made fun of a man who was trying to report that his uncle had been robbed and killed.
A few minutes later, they roared as a member of Parliament, obviously drunk, beat someone who complained about his son smoking hashish. “They are showing the truth,” Faryad said, as everyone in the store nodded appreciatively. “They raise awareness.”
“Shabake Khanda,” or “Laughter Network,” the wildly successful Afghan version of “Saturday Night Live,” is watched by millions once a week, with reruns airing twice more during the week. No one — not powerful politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, not even President Ashraf Ghani — is spared its skewering.
The regular impersonation of Ghani by comic actor Mohammad Ibrahim Abed — who casually mocks the president’s peevishness and political tin ear — is so popular that even palace aides call the show to complain if a Friday passes with no roast of their boss.
In a bow to nonpartisanship, “Laughter Network” also makes fun of Abdullah Abdullah, Kabul’s chief executive officer, whose relationship with Ghani has been strained since they agreed to share power after flawed elections in 2014. Actors Seyar Matin and Nabi Roshan alternate playing Abdullah.
“Laughter Network’s” producers at the private TOLO TV channel say its satire gives struggling Afghans an outlet for frustration and brings the powerful down a peg. It tackles topics from air pollution to crime and corruption.
“I am proud of what I am doing,” said Nabi Roshan, one of the two actors who portray Abdullah Abdullah, the government’s chief executive officer.
“When I play someone’s role to convey a message, I feel like I am in the front line of a war, like a soldier.”
Last month, when the “Laughter Network” crew’s van stopped on a street, a man rushed up and kissed Abed’s forehead. The man, Rohullah Mansouri, said he loved the show so much that he had missed only one episode — the night his wife gave birth.